


Glittering in Neon

by Light_Voltage (MistRunner)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Merman!AU, Surfing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-20 16:34:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14265144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistRunner/pseuds/Light_Voltage
Summary: Kim Jongin had always liked the sea, had always liked to ride the waves. But due to a terrible storm he learns to fear the dark waters too. The only thing he remembers from that night is the feeling of suffocating and a colourful glittering that surrounded him.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Sehun/Jongin fanfiction.  
> This is merman/mermaid!Au, with Sehun being of the merfolk and Jongin being a normal human from a town called Daejeong-eup in the south of Jeju Island.
> 
> There will be minor side!ChanSoo with a possibility of a spin-off for them, but I don't know about that yet, depends if I have the time to do it or not ><
> 
> Please have fun!!
> 
>  
> 
> >The wonderful cover was made by Cloudy Dream<

 

>Prologue<

 

_All he remembered was blackness. It was dark and the iciness of the sea crept up his spine until it had spread into every fibre of his being. He felt numb and blind. Jongin remembered being unable to move any longer, his limbs hanging at his sides as he began to drift further and further down._

_Into the dark._

_It had felt like someone was choking him, but he had long stopped struggling against the invisible force that held him captive and pulled him down an endless abyss._

_The sea had been merciless, tearing at him with so much force that he wondered how he managed to not be ripped into pieces as the surge pulled him underwater, the faint light of the surface becoming dimmer and dimmer as the water claimed him like he was some lost treasure from a pirate ship._

_And then..._

_A flash of colours, glistening like a rainbow as he was suddenly dragged upwards. Jongin had barely any oxygen left in his lungs, and if he was honest he still wasn't sure if his brain had played tricks on him in that moment. But because he was so close to fainting, so close to losing his consciousness completely, he couldn't remember anything else besides the warm colours that seemed to bring him back._

_And suddenly, he was able to breathe again._

_The sky greeted him._

_But before he could turn his head, could process the swimming images in front of his eyes..._

_His mind faded to black._

 

~~~

Kim Jongin had been 17 years old back then. He was a happy kid, had always been. Maybe a little bratty from time to time, but that had settled slowly over the duration of his puberty. The only thing that his parents now complain about was school. But Jongin really couldn't care less about that. He knew that school was important for his future, but to him most of the classes were plain boring. Especially things like Chemistry classes. Would anyone care to explain where he would need to be able to pull off a full redox reaction within two minutes time if he did not plan to become a chemical engineer or something?  
Right.  
Never.

So anything academic was pushed out of his mind easily, especially when he had to decide between his hobby and doing homework.  
Most of his days were spent outside, somewhere on the beach. Which wasn't that uncommon for all the young people here on Jeju Island and their small city especially.  
Daejeoneup had always been a city focused on fishing business and housed one of the best seafood restaurants in all of Korea. In a way, it was almost natural that the inhabitants had a special connection to the sea and loved taking walks along the beach.

But Kim Jongin...

He loved the sea.

There was barely any day, no matter what time of the year, where you didn't find Kim Jongin at the beach, staring at the wide ocean spreading in front of him. The only time where he would probably skip going down the street to the beach... well you would need a raging thunderstorm with pouring rain for that. Or maybe like that one time in the beginning of winter where it had hailed for the entire afternoon.  
Any other day you would find Kim Jongin exactly there, ready to plunge into the calm waters if the weather let him.

The tanned male was a surfer. And he learned early on that if he wanted to be able to ride every wave the ocean threw at him, he needed to understand how the waters worked. And that had been the start of many learning sessions, if one might call them like that.  
The weather was especially important to keep eyes on, he realised with a young age already. He had gotten his first surfboard from his brother, who had been a surfer himself. Jongin had watched Jongseok almost every day when he went out during summer vacations to conquer the waves.

Until finally... for his twelfth birthday... he had gotten his own board and his first wetsuit from his parents.

Before that, they had been too worried for their little son to go out with his brother. But Jongin was a fast learner, and after the second year, he had already surpassed his older sibling.  
Jongseok however... didn't stay in Daejeoneup. When his high school graduation rolled around, he was accepted into a well-known university in Ulsan and so he had to move into the dormitories there, leaving the younger alone.  
While he had been crushed at the beginning, Jongin learned to deal with it. He loved his brother dearly, but he could never be so selfish and ask him to stay only for them to spend their summers together at the beach forever.

After his sibling left however, Jongin became more and more invested into his hobby until he was as obsessed as he was now, at age 17.

Surfing was not just a hobby to Kim Jongin... it was his passion.

He went out to the beach with his board almost every day, even if the water had turned freezing cold when autumn came around. And he was back in the sea as soon as he could dip his toe in and didn't pull it out as an ice cube anymore.  
Jongin loved the ocean. The deep, calming blue colour that spread towards the horizon where it met the azure of the sky.

He trusted it, because he knew how to read every wave that licked at the sandy beach.  
The teenager was sure that he could predict everything that the ocean had in store for him.

Jongdae and Baekhyun were his friends since middle school and they had both learned surfing from their friend during summer vacations. They often came to the beach with him and watched him challenge a new wave, an even higher one than before, and each time Jongin's smile grew on his face when he had managed to best it.

Of course, he was no prodigy.  
He had learned the hard way when a wave was too strong, too fast, just too much. But he had always gotten back up, his surfboard under his arm when he came out of the waters with a glint in his eyes. It always said ' _next time, I'll manage'_.

But the black haired male knew that for his friends surfing was just a way to let the time pass faster.  
Yes they had fun, they enjoyed riding the waves with him, but they were far from being passionate about it.  
Jongin couldn't blame them though. He understood. Not everyone likes the same things after all.

So he didn't mind when they only joined him during summer vacation. Jongin knew he was kind of crazy. Going out when the clouds were already hanging low, and the fresh autumn air was brisk, sending the first chills down his body. But as long as he didn't freeze to death in the water, the black haired boy did not see a reason to stop. And so he went out again, even though the sea was already becoming chilly, and the humidity of the air told him that there was probably a storm approaching.

_Two or three waves_ , he had promised himself. Just a quick ride and he would be out and bid the water goodbye until spring would come. He would come and watch, but surfing was out of question during winter, even for him.

_Two or three_ turned into _four or five_ and then it was already too late for Jongin to act. He had been too caught up with besting that one last wave, too busy ignoring the cold that was eating away at him that he did not realise the clouds turning grey and the wind picking up.

The storm had approached faster than he would have ever thought.   
For the first time in forever, Jongin's prediction had been wrong.

Big waves formed, more violent than ever and they were nothing a surfer wanted to conquer. Jongin couldn't help but curse as he realised his mistake. He moved to swim back to the beach, get onto the solid ground as fast as possible, but it was like an invisible hand had suddenly grabbed him and yanked him under water.

The wave had hit him hard, pulling at him and he had to struggle with all of his might to make it back to the surface. That his surfboard was attached to him by the rubber band on his ankle made everything even more exhausting as the board was dragged into a different direction than his body.

He wanted to scream, cry for help but every time he opened his mouth a wave of saltwater hit him and he swallowed more and more of the liquid that made his mind cloudy and hazy.  
"Shit!", was probably the only thing he managed to get out completely before he was pulled under water again, nearly choking on the liquid that was getting  into his air-pipe in the process.

\--

Everything afterwards was fuzzy in Kim Jongin's memory. He remembered drowning, letting out the last bit of oxygen and then...

That flash of colours.... that had pulled him back up. He remembered falling unconscious and waking up on the beach. The sand had been everywhere, especially in his hair and between his fingers. His toes didn't look any better, but the ocean's waves licked at them from time to time.

Jongin had scrambled to his feet, eyes wide, crawling away as far as possible from the sea that had broken his trust.  
He had been trembling all over and the sound of the crashing waves had caused tears to form between his shut eyelids.

\--

Today Jongin was twenty-three and he was still afraid of the ocean.

It had been five years, nearing six and everything that he had built up had come crashing down on him in the most literal sense. At first, the mere thought of approaching the beach again had scared him.  
But... after a while and only with his best friends' help he was able to take a walk along the sandy shore again.

He still winced when a bigger waved crashed, but all in all...

It was better.

However... deep inside Kim Jongin stilled feared the sea, the one elemental force he had once trusted, he had once thought he knew inside out. But he learned that the ocean was not gentle.  
Water was ruthless.  
Nightmares plagued him every once in a while, but there was also that warm light again. He had dreamed about it so often that by now Jongin was sure it had not been a figment of his imagination. It had been real.

_Something_ had saved him. Or was it _someone_?

But when he woke up again after that terrifying experience that still caused his knees to go weak... there had been no one. He had been alone, wetsuit torn in so many places that it had been ruined beyond repair.

Not that the black haired had minded. He had thrown the garment away without a second thought.

Jongin had sworn to never enter the waters again. The black haired liked working at the local bookstore and his parents had welcomed his decision to settle down without any great adventures even more. Still ... he had been robbed of his passion and all that was left was the small happiness his job brought him now.

To Kim Jongin the sea only brought misery.

 

And a flash of colours.

**> Prologue END<**

 

 

**A/N:** __  
So, finally, the prologue is up. A little backstory on Jongin! This is where the actual story will start now.  
I really hope that you will enjoy the story of ‘Glittering in Neon’!  



	2. Underneath the water's surface

 

**> Underneath the water’s surface<**  
  
It’s on a Friday afternoon that Jongin got surprised by his two best friends right after his shift at the bookstore.  
The brunet nearly got a heart attack when both his best friends suddenly tackled him from behind, loud laughter reveberating in the shop.  
It was in the very moment, when Jongin felt like he was being strangled to death by Baekhyun’s hands or Jongdae’s arms that he realised how much he had missed the two troublemakers.  
They had been constants in his life and back in his high school days the youngest never thought that he might have to miss them.  
  
But then university rolled around and everything changed.  
While Jongin had chosen to stay in their town, continuing his life in Daejeong-eup like his parents had before him, both his best friends were pulled into the big city of Jeju.  
They enrolled into Jeju National University and taking the train and bus services to get back into their hometown takes them at least two hours, if they are lucky, so they chose to move into a dorm together, only returning on the weekends.  
And not even every weekend as they had lots of course work to catch up on.  
Jongin never held it against them – he was actually happy for them. About them chasing their dreams of leaving the small seaside city, of leaving the island, of sometime living in Seoul, their capital.  
  
Seoul was over 500 miles away from their town, but these two were a step closer than the young brunet would ever be.  
  
“Jongin!”, the brunet snapped his head up when the eldest of their group called for him  
“Yeah?”, he chuckled, feeling a little embarrassed that he had spaced out on them. But he guessed they were used to that already.  
The youngest had always been prone to day dreaming.  
Especially during chemistry lessons, but who could blame him for that?  
“Come on. We want to grab dinner together and head down to the beach”, Baekhyun exclaimed with his typical bright smile.  
Jongin wished he could be just as enthusiastic.  
“The beach…?”, he felt a shiver run down his spine from just imagining setting foot onto the sand  
“Yeah”, Jongdae chimed in this time  
“Not the water. Just a short walk along the beach”  
  
The brunet gave in eventually.  
His friends had looked at him with pity in their eyes, only overshadowed by their evident worry.  
He hated it.  
“Fine”, he remembered himself saying  
“But let’s grab dinner first. I want to eat chicken and you two are paying!”  
There is a collective whine from both of his friends, but they were protesting less than he had imagined.  
In the end he got his chicken, along with a glass of cold beer.  
His friends’ laughter is more than contagious, and soon enough he mused that going to the beach couldn’t be that bad.  
  
As it turned out, it really wasn’t.  
Jongin kept his distance, walking along the edge of the beach while Baekhyun and Jongdae ran around like the inner four year olds they were, their legs getting more soaked by the minute as they apparently didn’t care about skipping through the shallow waters .  
  
“Jongin, hey!”  
He was pulled out of his trance yet again, but this time it had been Jongdae calling for him.  
“Come on. You’re barely even touching the sand. It’s fine”  
The other’s voice suddenly got softer, trying to soothe the brunet’s fear.  
“We are here”  
Jongdae offered a big smile and waved him over with his free hand, the one that wasn’t grabbed by Baekhyun to pull the honey blonde male into the next wave as a form of prank that Jongin didn’t really get.  
But then again, his best friends were their own case anyway.  
  
“Fine”, he breathed out, nostrils flaring as he got out of his sneakers and socks without using his hands, just with the help of his feet.  
Feeling the rough sand underneath his feet was something else entirely.  
It triggered memories, so many memories that washed over him like a warm spring breeze and caused him to smile even if it was just slightly.  
The brunet walked a little closer, glancing over at the shore to reassure himself that there was still enough distance between him and the sea.  
The water couldn’t get him.  
He was safe.  
“Yah!”, he suddenly yelped out as the eldest had tackled him, successfully throwing him over and causing him to land on his side, the sand to get caught in his hair and his clothes.  
“Byun Baekhyun!!”, he yelled after the snickering male and scrambled to get back to his feet.  
The sand felt warm against his arms and although it was kind of gross it even felt familiar all over his cheek where he had met the ground.  
  
“It looks good on you”, Jongdae piped up and helped him dust off the sand from his black jeans.  
“What? Being dirty?”, Jongin grumbled and sent Baekhyun another death glare.  
This wasn’t over yet.  
He would get his revenge before the elder would withdraw to the safe haven of Jeju City.  
The black haired only snickered when he noticed his gaze.  
This arrogant little-  
“The sand”, the smaller explained and made Jongin turn his head  
“The beach. It’s just… Don’t you miss it? Coming here? Not even surfing just… you used to love the sea. The beach”  
  
Used to.  
  
That was the important point.  
Jongin used to love the sea, until it had betrayed him.  
He kind of knew that his way of thinking was childish and absolutely over the top.  
But he couldn’t help it.  
  
“I do”, he whispered, avoiding his friend’s eyes, focusing on the ground instead  
“A little”  
A small confession that was barely audible over the strong sea breeze that tousled their locks.  
  
He really did.  
Saying otherwise would be a lie. Jongin often dreamed about coming here again, feeling the sand underneath his feet like he did now.  
He dreamt about surfing again – about touching a rolling wave with his fingertips as he rides over the ocean’s surface until it breaks and all that is left is a feeling that nothing else could compare to.  
The adrenaline, the sheer thrill of being one with the water, of flowing alongside it…  
  
He missed it dearly.  
But Jongin’s fears bested him. They were stronger than the yearning.  
  
“Maybe you should try again”, Jongdae told him and squeezed his shoulder with a reassuring smile before he ran after Baekhyun, kicking sand into the direction of the eldest.  
These two…  
Jongin had to laugh at them because the honey blonde finally caught up with Baekhyun, but miscalculated his momentum and sent them both tumbling to the ground, face first into the sandy beach.  
The brunet’s laughter caught their attention and they both glare at him, but that didn’t stop him from snickering at their bad luck.  
Perhaps he needed more moments like this to overcome his fears.  
More happy moments that are tied to the beach and the ocean so he can try again.  
  
He was still chuckling as his gaze wandered over the vast ocean.  
Jongin really hoped that he would be able to surf again one day.  
But at this very moment, the day when it would happen seemed to be a far away.  
  
  
The sunrays are reflecting on the water’s surface glittering in a manner that was very familiar to him, but yet not.  
_It’s not quite the same_ , he mused.  
Yet it was very close to the very play of colours he had witnessed in the storm that had nearly taken his life.  
Was it really possible that it had been real?  
That he had not made it up when he had been on the verge of drowning?  
Then again, even if it had been real… it could have been the flash of lightning reflecting in the water.  
What exactly was Jongin even hoping to find?  
Some kind of miracle?  
The brunet suddenly felt very stupid and childish.  
He shook his head and let out a sigh.  
“You’re a dummy, Kim Jongin”, he muttered to himself, yet when he lifted his head again his breath stopped for a moment.  
The glittering reflection was gone.  
  
Jongin had to blink in case his eyes were playing tricks on him again, but when he looked up it was still nowhere to be found. As if it had never been there – as if the brunet had imagined it.  
“How-“, he narrowed his gaze  
  
How was this possible? The sun was still there, but the reflections he saw now were clearly different.  
  
“What’s up Jonginah?”  
Said brunet turned on his heels and realised that both his best friends had walked up to him  
“Did you see the reflection in the water?”, he pointed into the direction where he had seen it, but the other two only blinked  
“Yeah? The sun is reflecting there… don’t tell me you forgot about that?”, Baekhyun looked at him with drawn up eyebrows  
“Can one even forget that”, Jongdae chuckled next to him and nudged Jongin in his side  
“Don’t act like you have never seen the sea, just because you had one accident”  
  
That nearly killed me.  
But Jongin kept that comment in and just sighed.  
“Not that! There was something else! It had more colours and-“, the brunet stopped mid-sentence, realising that he couldn’t even really describe it.  
All three of them turned towards the direction Jongin was pointing to, but it was crystal clear that whatever he had seen wasn’t there anymore.  
“I think you are imagining things”, Jongdae chuckled and patted his shoulder.  
“Yeah. Maybe the sun is getting to your head?”, Baekhyun joined in the teasing with a loud snicker  
“We should head home”  
“I don’t even know why I am friends with the likes of you”, the brunet growled but it only earned him a shared laughter of his friends  
“Because you love us”  
  
That, Jongin cannot deny.  
Reluctantly, he takes a last glance at the water’s surface before he turned to leave along with his friends. Suddenly, he stilled. Jongin squinted his eyes to get a better view of the rock formations littered along the shore of the beach to his right.  
The sandy shore gave way to the sturdy boulders till there was nothing but narrow cliffs left, and it was between two rocks that reached into the clear sea that he saw it again.  
Jongin was a hundred percent sure that this was the same play of colours he had seen only a moment ago!  
 He needed to -  
“Jongin!”  
The brunet whipped his head around to face his friend and at the same time he heard a loud ‘ _splash_ ’ sound coming from the direction of the rock formations.  
He turned back – it was gone yet again.  
  
  
“Jongin”, Baekhyun repeated and this time the tanned male really turned around  
“Are you okay?”, Jongdae asked, eyes seizing him up and down with the same worry they always held when looking at him  
  
Jongin rubbed his temples, but showed his best smile when his friends look at him with worry.  
“It’s nothing!”, he told them  
“You two are probably right. The heat is getting to me”  
  
Perhaps, he was really going insane.  
  
\--  
  
Jongin didn’t know what possessed him, but he found himself back at the beach the next day.  
He has the late shift at the bookstore and that left him with enough time to take a walk along the shore again.  
This time, without his noisy best friends.  
  
Jongin called them noisy in his mind, but in reality he never wanted to miss them.  
It had been late yesterday, when they had finally called it a night.  
There had been a little too much beer involved and far too many stories of Baekhyun’s and Jongdae’s college life.  
All three of them had passed out eventually and he was kind of sure that his two best friends were still in his home, sprawled over the couch in his living room.  
He had left them a note just in case.  
But they were big boys so he trusted them to get back home in one piece. Or two pieces.  
  
Jongin had been really grateful for the distraction.  
The brunet was sure that if the two of them hadn’t come to drink with him he wouldn’t have found any sleep that night.  
He would have spent it tossing and turning, recalling the strange illuminations he had seen again, pondering if he was going mad or not.  
  
  
Instead of doing so in his bed, he chose to do so at the very place he had last seen them.  
Something just told him that he needed to investigate.  
Jongin was desperately clinging to the hope that no, his mind was not playing tricks on him and that he was not crazy.  
He had seen it with his own eyes.  
“Why am I doing this”  
That didn’t stop him from questioning his moves however, as he started to climb up a pretty broad looking rock which reached from the beach into the water.  
Waves were clashing against it, but the rock was tall enough that they didn’t reach the top.  
At least not as long the weather stayed as calm as it was.  
  
Climbing up trees or boulders had never been his strength, but the rock had enough bumps and dents which he could grab or use as purchase for his feet.  
The brunet let out a long groan when he pulled himself up to the very top, immediately questioning his sanity yet again.  
The rock wasn’t even that big, and it hadn’t taken him that long to climb it, but Jongin was definitely out of shape regarding his stamina.  
The lack of exertion was taking a toll on him it seemed.  
  
The look from on top of the rock was beautiful, for the lack of better words.  
Jongin might be fond of books, but he had never been one for extraordinary vocabulary. Especially, because beautiful was the best way to describe it.  
His eyes roamed over the beach that lay to his right, his foot prints still visible in the sand.  
The waves of the ocean met with the shore and where they broke against the rock formations loud splashes were heard.  
The air was moist and tickled in Jongin’s nose.  
  
Everything was exactly as he remembered it.  
  
To his right, there was a small cove.  
The rocks seemed to have been placed there by some greater force as they left just enough room for the small sandy bay, completely hidden away.  
Jongin knew that cove of course, as well as most fisherman did.  
  
It was just not visible to the common people who usually occupied the beach of Daejeong-eup.  
The brunet had landed one too many times there when a wave had carried him a little too far and he was glad each time when he didn’t meet with a bolder but could get out on the sandy part and just swim back.  
Or well, climb back.  
  
But that really wasn’t something he enjoyed, even less with his surfboard underneath his arm.  
  
Jongin let out a satisfied smile.  
Back then, he had never thought that he would end up like this.  
Scared… and feeling a little lonely just because he couldn’t enjoy surfing anymore. It felt as if the sea had been his friend and now…  
They had cut ties.  
The brunet closed his eyes for a moment as a wave of melancholy hit him again.  
He really wanted to get over it.  
Jongin wanted to try again.  
But each time he only looked at his surfboard… he had abandoned the idea as quickly as it had come.  
  
The tanned male finally remembered why he had come here in the first place.  
Right.  
He wanted to investigate.  
He had seen the colourful lights again and it had been around here, the very rock he had climbed.  
But…  
Had it been real?  
Because of his friends, he found himself doubting his own perception yet again.  
  
  
Still… there must be something.  
Anything.  
It hadn’t been the sunlight. But what else had it been then?  
A special kind of fish?  
That reflected lights?  
  
Maybe he should have googled such possibilities beforehand. Before he actually made his way here and climbed rocks and looked around as if he had lost something.  
  
  
Jongin sighed.  
“This is hopeless”, he muttered under his breath and was at the verge of giving up, plopping down on his butt. There was surely a logical explanation even if these reflections had been real.  
And he was also sure that some kind of myth buster had already solved this for him.  
  
The brunet shook his head. He should leave before he’d be too late for his shift.  
He took a last glance over the beach and then over the rocky formations-  
  
_Wait._  
  
Jongin stilled as he saw something glistening in the corners of his eyes. He turned, half expecting to be disappointed again when he realised that yes… it was happening again.  
It was there!  
His eyes widened but he knew he couldn’t be mistaken.  
  
This  _was_  the same reflection!  
He would recognise it anywhere!  
Jongin watched as it glittered in the water, the sunlight shimmering in all kinds of blues and pinks and yellows.  
It was a little like someone had caught a rainbow, stored it in a glass bottle and hid it underneath the water’s surface so no one would be able to steal it.  
  
Jongin had no idea what it was, or how it even came to be – the only thing he knew was that this was not the reflection of any light that got refracted.  
If he squinted his eyes hard enough he could make out some kind of shadow there, something dark.  
“Just what in the world?”  
The brunet wanted to know, shifted closer on the top of the rock so he could take a closer look.  
The illumination continued to glisten as it wanted to entertain him and in this very moment Jongin is sure that he was not insane.  
“I knew it!”, he exclaimed  
He is very much sane right now, not hangover from the long night he had spent with his best friends.  
And it was there.  
Gleaming close to the sandy shore of the little cove the rock formation had created there.  
  
  
Jongin felt his heart hammering in his chest as he tried to stand up on the boulder so he could observe it from a higher position.  
Maybe he would finally find out what it was.  
And if… it had really been there, back then when he had thought that he would never be able to breathe again.  
“I need to-“, he was almost up on his legs, when he miscalculated a step and slipped right off.  
The rock had been wet and slippery from the waves hitting the side and the brunet hadn’t checked if it was safe to stand up.  
He had been too excited.  
  
And it ended with him falling of the boulder, barely missing the rock’s edge as he tumbled down into the sea.  
  
Jongin wanted to scream but as he opened his mouth it was already too late and the water streamed inside.  
A searing pain spread through his throat as the salty water irritated his air pipe and his mind began to black out.  
Again.  
Why was this happening to him  _again_?  
With his mind swimming, so close to losing conscious for yet another time, he wasn’t able to form a coherent thought. His arms were flailing as he was desperately trying to swim up to the surface, but everything was uncoordinated due to the lack of oxygen in his brain.  
Was this really the end now?  
  
Jongin couldn’t even curse himself for being careless, for being the one at fault yet again.  
His vision was long blurry, his eyes stinging from the high salt concentration in the water.  
  
The only thing he can still think is ‘ _shit, this time it’s really over’_.  
  
In a matter of seconds, something suddenly grabs him. Something or someone had grasped his arm and with a lot of force he is yanked forward without a warning and dragged along.  
It felt like a swift current had gotten a hold of him and was pulling him along.  
And if that was the case then he was really done for.  
If it was a freshet, taking him out into the sea … there was no way for Jongin to survive this.  
  
He was being moved so quickly that he couldn’t even keep his eyes open, the pressure of the water being too much.  
Jongin felt himself giving in to the dark.  
He did not want to die, not like this, not so young but there was no way in hell he was going to survive this.  
  
Jongin gasped as he was suddenly thrown onto the sand.  
Fresh air filled his lungs and he didn’t even realise he was breathing again until his chest began to hurt from the shock, the lack of oxygen before and the damn salt water that was still burning his pipes and eyes.  
The waves of the sea are licking his feet, but he could feel the soft and warm sand underneath his hands, underneath his back.  
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”  
Jongin nearly choked on the water he was coughing up and froze in place.  
  
A voice?  
  
The brunet is wheezing, and damn, everything burns, his eyes, his chest and his head is buzzing as if a swarm of bees had found a new home there.  
He really wanted to open his eyes but everything was hazy and his senses are in a general state of disarray.  
Otherwise he might have felt the warmth of a second body on top of his, or reckoned the extra weight on his legs.  
He fought the stinging, tried to ignore the pain when he finally opened his eyes.  
  
  
Dark, teal coloured eyes are looking back at him.  
There are wet, black locks framing the pale face of the stranger that had apparently pulled him out of the water.  
Jongin found himself unable to move as these orbs held a weird power over him.  
A guy?  
  
The dark eyes of the stranger look at him with worry, the guy’s eyebrows drawn up in a frown as the black haired regarded him, seizing him up as if he was searching for any injuries.  
  
  
“I…”, he croaked out but his voice dies in his throat.  
The male’s body felt so warm against his own and Jongin struggled to at least get his torso up and lean on is elbows.  
The stranger backs of a little, his arms left and right of the tanned male’s chest. His lips were forming a pout by now as if he was upset and indignant at something the brunet did.  
  
What was happening?  
  
“You could have died!”, the stranger exclaimed and Jongin just nodded dumbly.  
He could have.  
He knew.  
His eyes were slowly regaining their focus and Jongin can finally take a closer look at his saviour.  
The first thing he noticed was that he had never seen this guy before. Had never seen anyone with such teal coloured orbs before and never-  
  
His breath got caught in his throat.  
He might have not wondered about why his saviour’s chest was naked, as it was no big deal to go swimming in the sea without anything but your swim trunks on.  
Only that the other wasn’t wearing any swimming shorts.  
  
His brown eyes are fixed on the sky blue tailfin that shimmered colourfully in the sunlight.  
The scales that covered the other’s tail looked like they were of silky texture, yet solid at the same time and if he didn’t feel like his head was spinning again he would have reached out to touch them.  
“Hey!”, the stranger called out to him but his vision was going darker again.  
  
Jongin was crazy.  
He had been saved by a  _merman_.  
He must have definitely gone insane.  
  
Jongin’s world went black.  
  
                                                        **~~~~~~End of Chapter 1~~~~~~**  
  
  
**A/N:**  
_Thank you to every one who read the prologue and stayed with me! Chapter 1 is here ;) And guess who turned up?  
It is kind of obvious is it not? Haha!  
  
Any feedback is appreciated! ; )  
  
Xoxo Voltage_


	3. Reflections

 

**> Reflections<**

His head was buzzing when Jongin came back to his senses. It felt like someone had dropped him into a wasp nest.  
Everything was spinning.  
Black dots were spoiling his vision and he had to blink several times to make them disappear.  
The first thing he noticed was the orange glowing light of the setting sun.  
How long had he been out?  
Why…  
  
Why had he even fainted on the beach?  
The brunet groaned as he came up to a sitting position, his hand automatically coming up to rub his temples and tousle his locks.  
A wave came crawling up the shore and the sea foam tickled his feet, before he pulled his legs up to get them out of the ocean’s reach.  
His eyes scanned his surroundings.  
Jongin recognised these rock formations around him. He was definitely still on their beach, which was good as he had feared for a moment that some storm must have carried him away.  
But good, he was still home.  
Jongin just needed to climb over that rock over there and he could walk back to his apartment.  
Or swim through the water…  
But that wasn’t really an option to him.  
  
A sigh of relief left his lips.  
He was fine.  
Then that strange encounter… must have been a dream.  
A dream – nothing else.  
  
Jongin still remembered it vividly. Teal eyes staring back at him, black hair and pale skin.  
A blue tail…shimmering in a million different colours…  
Yeah right.  
And his grandma was the Queen of England.  
Merfolk could not be real.  
He must have hit his head when he dropped of the rock over there and fantasised about this whole thing.  
Of course there were legends.  
But that was all they were – legends. Fishermen claimed to have seen them. Mermaids. Or mermen in his case.  
He was pretty sure that the creature in his dream had been male – with a flat chest and sharp cheekbones. The image of the boy was burned into his mind and he would probably never be able to forget these eyes his subconscious mind made up.  
Jongin shook his head.  
  
He was getting side-tracked.  
Actually, he should not keep sitting here, wet sand sticking to his feet, but get back home. Judging by the position of the sun, it was nearing 7 in the evening already.  
Or something like that.  
The brunet had lost his feeling for time and the weather when he had stopped surfing. Or at least, most of it.  
He shook his head again and mentally prepared himself to get up.  
Once again, he was proven that the sea was dangerous. It had pulled him back in. And although it had obviously been his own fault… Jongin didn’t feel like it was.  
His phobia was getting the better of him.  
  
The brunet had to bite his lower lip to stop from trembling as the next wave broke against the nearest rock.  
It can’t get you, he told himself.  
You’re on the beach. Sand. Solid ground.  
Now you only have to get onto your feet and climb up that rock and –  
“You’re finally up”  
  
Jongin froze.  
  
His whole body felt numb, as if he was drowning again, as if he was losing control over his limbs for yet another time.  
And perhaps, he was indeed drowning.  
But in a completely different way.  
Jongin was spellbound, as if an ancient kind of magic was holding him in place as he was gazing into dark teal coloured pools.  
Eyes.  
  
  
_No._  
  
His breath hitched in the back of his throat.  
It had been a dream.  
_It had to be!_  
  
But Jongin was sure that he was not dreaming right now. And yet… the creature had appeared before him again.  
That… merman…  
And, damn, he was awfully close to.  
When had he even… ?  
The brunet was utterly bewildered. He was sure that the creature had not been here a few seconds ago. Had he been hiding in the water?  
Jongin was speechless.  
So many questions were popping up in his mind, but his mouth would not move. His lips stayed sealed, pursed into a thin line as he stared at the mer-creature in disbelief.  
But that apparently did not deter the merman. In fact, he was leaning in closer, his wet tail draped over Jongin’s legs.  
The fin, at the very end of the tail, seemed to be made out of silk. Or something even more delicate. Jongin had never seen anything like this before, but it was clear that it was made of very fragile tissue.  
The creature tilted his head, seemingly amused by the human’s darting gaze, a low chuckle leaving his throat.  
  
The brunet swallowed, before facing the merman again.  
He hadn’t even noticed that he had started to stare at his anatomy.  
  
“Do you want to touch it?”  
“What?”  
  
From all the things that the brunet had imagined, this had definitely not been on the list. Those fangs looked like they could hurt. And Jongin had actually expected to be hissed at, if not attacked.  
Then again…  
If the creature would have wanted to hurt him… he would have already done it, right?  
The guy rolled his eyes now before he shifted his weight so he could move his tail up close.  
Jongin held his breath.  
He had no idea how to behave right now.  
“If you want to touch it”, the creature repeated.  
“Touch… it? Your… tail?”  
  
A nod.  
Jongin wasn’t sure if he should really do it though. Yes of course he was curious… but at the same time he was scared.  
But who wouldn’t be?  
He was face to face with something that was supposed to exist in fairy-tales only. Not in real life.  
Not in his town.  
On his beach.  
Still, curiosity killed the cat and the brunet found himself reaching out with trembling fingers, slowly stroking over the wet tissue of the fin.  
It was almost translucent up close… like a pearlescent veil.  
The creature started giggling and the human immediately retreated his hand.  
“Did I hurt you?”  
  
Was he seriously speaking to a merman?  
  
“No”, the male creature shook his head  
“But it tickled”, he explained and Jongin felt his face flush in embarrassment  
“Oh…”  
Better keep your hands to yourself, he chided himself. The human had indeed no idea how fragile or sturdy merfolk was.  
Did they bruise more easily than humans? Or were they built stronger than his own race?  
Even more questions.  
But they all stayed stuck in his throat.  
The merman tilted his head again, his ocean coloured eyes searching for answers in Jongin’s own.  
The frown on the other’s face however told the human that he was not finding what he was seeking.  
A sigh left the guy and his lips formed a pout.  
  
“You really don’t remember, do you?”  
Jongin blinked.  
The creature shrugged, before leaning in closer and causing the brunet to nearly choke on his own spit.  
Jongin could feel his heart beat loudly in his chest, felt it thump against his ribcage as if it wanted to escape any moment.  
He was scared.  
He had no idea what this was all about and how he should behave in the presence… of a fairy-tale creature.  
But at the same time he could not help but stare.  
His fear kept a tight grip on him, held him in place with cold hands, but the brunet’s eyes were drowning in the teal coloured sea of the merman’s orbs.  
Was this the reason why sailors are said to be enticed by mermaids and mermen?  
That they voluntarily follow them into the depths of the ocean, only to never come back?  
  
At least not alive.  
  
For a heartbeat, Jongin figured that he understood why those rumours, those legends, might be true.  
  
He swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to get his composure back in check. If… this really was the creature’s plan then he could not simply give in.  
Jongin did not want to die.  
His life might seem dull to other people, especially after losing his dream like that… yet, still… the brunet liked the quietness.  
The reassurance of habits.  
And who could say there was nothing else for him in store?  
  
“Not remember you?”  
The human wanted to laugh, but his chest felt too tight for the ripple of laughter to push through. Was this creature serious?  
Jongin was pretty sure that if he had ever met him before… ever met someone of the merfolk before… he would remember.  
“I… don’t. Who are you?”  
But that also meant…  
  
“How do you know me?”  
  
Jongin had expected a lot.  
For the creature to tell him that ‘ _he had always wanted to eat a young human like him_ ’ to ‘ _I was only pulling your leg, I don’t know you_ ’.  
Wait- did mermen even use leg?  
They would probably say something like… Pulling your tail? Pulling your fin?  
But the brunet’s musings were stopped the very moment a bright and handsome smile bloomed on the creature’s face.  
Jongin’s eyes widened as he inhaled sharply.  
He felt his own cheeks blush as the creature was practically radiating. His eyes formed to crescents and his bright white teeth showing with his big grin.  
And yeah.  
Those were fangs he could see there…  
Sharp canines.  
  
The human wanted to get away – get out of reach in case the guy decided to sink said teeth into his skin. But no matter how much he tried to wiggle free, it was sheer impossible with the other’s tail all over his legs.  
He might have managed – if he would have used more strength – yet he did not want to upset the creature. Didn’t want to make the merman aggressive or something to the likes of that.  
But the other’s smile stayed in place as he leaned in closer, putting a single finger onto the brunet’s plush lips.  
“I guess you don’t remember because you were unconscious when I saved you in that storm…”  
The human’s eyes went wide at once.  
  
The storm?  
When- when he had nearly drowned and all he could remember were those glittering lights?  
A gasp left him and he really wanted to speak up, ask this creature a million questions, but he was shushed instead.  
“Hush”, the black haired merman said, bringing their faces unbelievable close, with his finger still placed on the brunet’s mouth  
“It’s our secret, okay?”, he whispered, the creature’s breath hitting Jongin’s skin and he could not help but stare into those blue-green pools again.  
The human hated how much control the other had over him.  
Was he using some kind of spell?  
Because Jongin felt like spellbound to the spot once again. Who said that merfolk can’t use magic?  
If they exist…  
Anything could be possible – at least in Jongin’s mind now.  
  
“I guess I will forgive you for not remembering me”, the merman smirked  
“Your great saviour”, a snicker left him  
“Would have been better for me anyways… but then you just have to drop from up there and forget how to swim”  
Jongin swallowed as the creature scolded him, rolling his teal coloured eyes from time to time.  
“I…”  
He had been scared… was still traumatised in a way …  
“It doesn’t matter”, the creature shrugged, “You are save now. And this time even conscious”  
The human nodded.  
It wasn’t like Jongin had any other idea what he should do. Clearly the merman wanted to talk…? So there was no way he could get away…  
And…  
The brunet only realised now that he should probably thank the other. Because… as he had so nicely put it, this creature was his saviour? If the story was true?  
  
“That was a close call back then”, the merman grumbled and finally retreated his finger.  
Jongin inhaled deeply as he had not dared to breathe when the other’s digit has shushed him.  
Oxygen filled his lungs and he immediately felt a little better.  
“I was trying to warn you, idiot”, the creature growled and jabbed Jongin’s side.  
“I kept throwing you off your stupid board thing, but you just wouldn’t get out of the water”  
Jongin blinked.  
What?  
  
“Humans can be so dense sometimes… I should have let you die down there”  
Jongin gasped, eyes wide, but then the creature looked at him with a smirk. Was he… kidding?  
“So… you…really saved me?”  
“Well, that’s what I have been telling you just now”  
Jongin nodded dumbly.  
“Thank you”, he closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing heart  
“Without your help… I would be dead. So… thank you…?”  
He wanted to thank him personally, say his name.  
But then he realised that he had no idea how the creature was called. Jongin blinked and looked at the merman, who seemed to be waiting for him to continue.  
But well, the human couldn’t.  
“Thank you. I… I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”  
  
The male started to snicker.  
“I never told you my name”  
The human felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment. Could that guy please stop teasing him? It was enough that he felt absolutely overwhelmed with the fact that he was talking to a bloody merman in the first place, okay?  
“Tell me?”, he tried to coax the other into giving in.  
The creature shrugged.  
  
  
“I would. But I think you will neither understand, nor be able to pronounce it”  
“Try me”, the human challenged, his interest sparked immediately.  
The guy chuckled, cleared his throat and let out a really deep sound that sounded like a mixture between a whale’s song and a click train of a dolphin.  
Jongin is left stunned, completely bewildered.  
“I told you so”, the creature laughed and placed his slightly wet palms on the human’s chest, tracing some weird pattern on the brunet’s collarbones.  
A shiver went down his spine- but it wasn’t really unpleasant.  
It felt… soothing? Like calm waves of the ocean were tickling him and for the first time in forever, he really did not feel afraid at all.  
  
“Sorry”, he breathed out. He felt really bad for not being able to… pronounce that. But sadly, neither the sounds of whales nor the clicks of dolphins were on his list of languages he had studied.  
Then again, it probably was something different than whales and dolphins. It just sounded similar to his uneducated ears.  
“Don’t worry about it”, a shrug  
“You can call me whatever you want”  
“Oh...okay”  
They left it at that. The human had no idea what kind of name the merman could like, so he decided to stay quiet.  
“I was really worried you know. Don’t ever do that again! You never went out during storms.”  
  
So the creature had watched him before?  
Why?  
More questions came up in his mind, but he did not utter a single one.  
  
“You... don’t have to worry anymore… I stopped. Surfing, I mean”  
At that, the merman pouted.  
“I gathered that. You never came back after I got you back to the surface.”  
The brunet felt like his head was spinning again. He had waited for him to come back?  
Why?  
So many questions of why in his mind, and he wanted the other to answer them all at once to finally clear that haze.  
“Why though?”  
The creature looked up at him and came closer. So awfully close that Jongin had to hold his breath again.  
Why was he doing that!  
Was that normal for merfolk? Did they not know personal space?  
  
“I… I’m scared”, he whispered.  
Being faced with those dark teal eyes… he could not lie. Could not hide the truth however embarrassing it might seem.  
The creature tilted his head.  
“Scared? Of what?”  
The human swallowed  
“The… sea…. Of drowning… dying”, he admitted without thinking.  
How did the other do that?  
The brunet felt ready to spill all of his secrets as soon as the other asked.  
  
Was it because he was still afraid the creature might kidnap him…? And let him drown? Or would downright kill him here and now?  
No.  
Jongin realised that he was not scared of the creature itself. Not anymore.  
As it had turned out, the merman had saved his life. And why should he do that if his ulterior motive was to eat him? Or kill him in whatever way mermen preferred?  
It would not make sense.  
So there had to be another reason for this. An explanation.  
  
“Really?”  
The merman pulled back, looked at him with a frown  
“You never seemed scared before.”  
The human bit his lower lip, gnawed at it. He knew.  
He never was scared before. He used to love the sea. The waves.  
The water.  
It was like his second home.  
“I wasn’t”, he admitted and that just seemed to confuse the creature even more.  
“Then what changed?”, he pressed.  
“The storm. I…”  
Why did it seem so ridiculous all of a sudden? Talking to the other about the phobia he had developed… it appeared as something completely stupid, something a small kid would do.  
Get burned by the oven and avoiding it as a result.  
  
  
His eyes started to sting.  
He felt his chest constrict as the images of the black sea around him returned. Then he started shivering, jerking even when all he could see for a moment was black and his lungs failed to function.  
“Jongin!”  
Why was this happening?  
The brunet knew he was hyperventilating right now, trying to breathe, get air into his lungs but no matter how much he tried to inhale oxygen, his lungs still felt empty.  
_Air!_  
He needed –  
“Jongin!”  
He stopped.  
The shaking stilled as he found himself being held in place. The creature had cupped his face, holding him, screaming his name.  
He knew his name?  
The buzzing noise in his head stopped and was replaced by quietness. He was not drowning. Jongin was on the beach, the ocean at least half a meter away from him.  
He was panting now, his lungs relaxing as they could finally process the air they were taking in.  
“S-sorry”, he whispered, eyes still wide with shock.  
It had been a while.  
  
Since his last panic attack… why… why now?  
  
“Don’t worry.”, the merman whispered and let go of his face.  
As soon as he did so, Jongin became aware of his surrounding again. The waves crashing against the rocks, the seagulls cawing above.  
“Maybe it’s time for me to go”, the creature sighed  
“I’ve… been here for too long anyway. I wasn’t even supposed to be here in the first place…”  
Jongin averted his eyes.  
“Sorry. I made you… save me again”  
“That’s not what I meant”, the creature nudged him, and when the human looked back up, he was glad that the merman was smiling again.  
  
  
“Okay”, Jongin breathed out, his body still tingling from the adrenaline that had been surging through his veins moments before.  
His head felt light, fuzzy.  
But the thought of the creature leaving unsettled him. Would he see him again? Would anyone believe him?  
“This will stay our secret right?”, the merman looked at him, grinning.  
“Y-yeah… I… still don’t know how to… call you?”  
“Then think of something”, the merman snickered and slowly got off Jongin’s legs.  
The human hadn’t even realised they had gone numb ages ago, but it caused him to be unable to move for now.  
Wonderful.  
  
“But-“  
The creature was getting closer to the water, his tail shimmering as soon as the first waves of water engulfed it.  
“Wait-“  
Jongin wanted to reach out, wanted to get up and follow the creature and stop it from leaving. He had so many questions left!  
He couldn’t just!  
“Goodbye, Jongin”, the merman smirked, sent him a wink and with a loud splash, he completely vanished from the human’s eyes.  
The only thing he could catch sight off, were the colourful illuminations in the water that showed the creature’s whereabouts.  
But they, too, vanished a moment later.  
  
Jongin was left alone on the beach. His legs still numb, his mind a mess.  
  
He was saved by a merman, not only once but twice.  
And he would keep it a secret. It wasn’t like anyone would believe him anyway. Why would they?  
Jongin had no evidence to prove them otherwise.  
They would think he had gone insane.  
  
And maybe, he had.

  
  
**A/N:**  
_hello there! GIN is back with chapter number 2 ^^  
I hope everyone enjoyed it!  
Jongin still thinks he is going crazy haha, but okay who wouldn’t!  
  
All of your feedback is so much appreciated ah ;; thank you! See you soon!  
  
Xoxo voltage_


	4. New Beginnings

 

♒ ♒

  
Sehun knew that his brother wouldn’t be happy.  
Kyungsoo was the older of the two siblings and therefore he saw it as his duty to care for the youngest of the family.  
Which was, to Sehun’s greatest dismay and annoyance, he himself. Yet, he knew that his brother was only doing this because he cared for him.  
The other wasn’t good at voicing out affection, but Sehun had long learned how to deal with it.  
They had grown really close over the years and the younger, but taller, of the two had found himself confiding into Kyungsoo more often than not.  
He even…had mentioned Jongin before.  
When he had gone up there to save the other from drowning. Had pulled him with him to the next shore, where he stayed with the human until he finally opened his eyes again.  
Sehun felt his heart skip a beat as he replayed the memory in his mind. They had been younger back then, but Jongin had always been handsome. The merman had known what the feeling in his chest meant. He had watched the human play in the sea long enough to see it coming, so he couldn’t really say he had been surprised at the result.  
  
Thinking back, he had always known where this path would lead him. The path that started with curiosity and had easily grown into a small obsession as he had come back to the surface almost every day to catch a glimpse of that human playing with the gentle waves of the ocean.  
He was silly back then, still green as seaweed, thinking that this human would be able to understand him and his folk as he seemed to love the ocean as much as he did.  
Sehun had been fascinated.  
And that was what made him come back time and time again, watching with observant eyes until it had happened.  
Until it was too late and Sehun found himself hating the differences between them, because he knew… that he was never meant to be a part of that human’s life. Just as much as Jongin couldn’t become a part of his as he was lacking fins and the ability to breathe underwater.  
He would die.  
Just as the many humans had that his folk had pulled underwater in the Forgotten Ages when fish was still plentiful and humans did not dare to hunt them. When they had been a great folk who didn’t need to hide from those gigantic metal creatures people call ships.  
And yet, a simple storm had nearly taken his human’s life. Sehun remembered how shocked he had been, seeing the brunet out there in the water’s although the human usually was smart enough to never come out during a storm, or when one was just approaching. He had never been as daring as on that day…  
He had tried to warn him.  
Had thrown him of his board as secretively as possible to make him stop. But he hadn’t.  
And it was only a miracle Sehun had been strong enough back then, and especially fast enough, to get Jongin back on the beach.  
  
The merman shook his head.  
There was no use in remembering the past events now. Jongin didn’t remember what had happened. Which was… to be expected.  
The other had been wheezing, trying to get oxygen back into his lungs after he had finished coughing up the salt water that had nearly drowned him.  
Sehun had watched with worried eyes as the colour slowly crept back onto the human’s cheeks. The mer-creature had never felt this relieved in his entire life as when Jongin’s eyes had fluttered open, breathing slowly calming down from his coughing fit.  
He had been mesmerised – still was.  
It was the very reason why he had kept on coming back to the beach, although the human himself had not.  
  
“Let me get this straight”  
His older brother Kyungsoo pulled up his eyebrows as he stared at the younger. Sehun had already seen this coming. Which was also the reason why he had chosen this location for the talk.  
His… confession of some sorts.  
The two mermen had found a small bay at Gapa Island, with high rocks surrounding the area. In a way, the rock formations here reminded him of the beach of Daejeong-eup, which wasn’t that far from here.  
The sand felt nice underneath their scales, the sea breeze tousling their wet locks as they let the sun warm them up a little. It might have been one of Sehun’s tricks. Pretending to go out for a sunbath with his dearest brother whom he missed so much to get a chance to be alone with him.  
Not that Kyungsoo had believed that farce for even a moment.  
As soon as Sehun used the term ‘dearest brother’ the elder knew the question wasn’t if he had fucked up, but how much he had.  
  
The younger swallowed a comment about Kyungsoo and being straight, choosing to smile at the other instead. Having his brother mad at him was enough already.  
He really didn’t need to fuel the fire any further.  
“Yeah?”  
  
“You went to see that human again that you saved back in that storm?”  
Kyungsoo’s eyebrows told him that the elder was not happy with this revelation. At all.  
Which, as Sehun had already said, was to be expected.  
Kyungsoo had never been a fan of humans. And the younger didn’t really think that it would change any time soon, if ever.  
“His name is Jongin” the male with the blue coloured tail provided, but it didn’t seem like the other was really interested.  
“Sehun that was… Just…”  
A loud groan of annoyance and frustration leaves the lips of his older brother. He almost felt sorry for Kyungsoo as he always had to deal with Sehun’s whims.  
But only almost.  
“No big deal. He won’t tell anyone,”  
The younger was sure of it. Jongin wasn’t like that. Whether it was at their first meeting or their second, the human had never looked at him as if he was an unnatural creature.  
Or something that needed to be caught.  
He remembered the fascination in Jongin’s dark pools, but never something else. Sehun desperately wanted to believe that this human, his human, was different.  
  
“No big deal??” Kyungsoo’s fin splashed into the wave that had just licked at the shore of the beach, keeping them slightly wet all the time.  
After all, they could easily dehydrate and die.  
“Sehun… that was the second time he saw you… the first time okay, I understand, he was dying right? You wanted to help and he probably thought you were a figment of his imagination, but a second time?”  
The merman’s chest was heaving with all the words he pressed out, his navy coloured tail shifting on the surface as he tried to get his worries across.  
It wasn’t like Sehun didn’t understand what it meant.  
That his actions were dangerous, not only for him but for his whole kind. It was reckless. Yet, the younger mer-creature didn’t regret anything.  
“He was drowning again” he piped up, shrugging his broad shoulders.  
“There was nothing I could do. I had to help him.”  
  
Kyungsoo only let out a loud sigh.  
It was barely audible over the cries of the seagulls above.  
“Did he see you, Sehun?”  
The younger knew exactly what his brother meant with that. Did he see what you are? Did he see that you are different from his kind and that you can never be whatever you want you two to be?  
“Yeah”  
He watched as Kyungsoo bit his lip, his sharp canines digging into the plush flesh.  
“I hope you know what you are doing, Sehun”  
The merman let his light blue fin touch the surface of the next wave that rolled over them, basking in the reassurance it brought him.  
He knew that the sea was where he belonged.  
And that Jongin could never be a part of it. Not fully.  
“I am. Don’t worry.”  
The glance that he received in return told him otherwise, though. Kyungsoo would have a hard time not worrying about him.

♒ ♒

  
Sehun found himself going back again.  
He had no idea if Jongin would be there.  
It had been a miracle to even see the human that day, when he had to pull him out of the waters yet again. It was bemusing.  
Sehun remembered that the brown haired human had been a really good swimmer. Even with legs. It had been completely strange to see him fight for his life like that, when he used to swim in the sea every day before the storm incident had happened.  
And now?  
It was like Jongin had lost the ability completely.  
If the merman hadn’t been there… would the other have drowned? Just like that?  
  
The thought alone causes a shiver to run down his spine, tickling the fine tissue of the tip of his fin.  
He didn’t want to lose Jongin.  
It was surely strange for him to say this.  
They… actually had no connection whatsoever.  
And still…  
  
Sehun lifted his gaze to the beach where he used to see Jongin almost every day.  
It had been a hassle to sneak away from home back then, but he had never wanted to miss a chance to get a glimpse of the human and how he played in the water.  
Surfing it was, the mer-creature had learned.  
The human’s broad grin had told him that Jongin loved the sea. Loved the ocean and the waves and how they gave him the feeling of freedom.  
Just as Sehun felt.  
Where… had this smile gone to?  
  
He nearly let out a gasp when his eyes land on a familiar figure.  
The sun was about to set now, and the male actually hadn’t thought that he would meet Jongin at this hour.  
He had learned early that humans weren’t so fond of the night, when only the moon was bright enough to light their way.  
Which was probably the reason why they put up so many artificial lights that polluted the night air. Sehun hated them.  
He had no idea how they worked, but he didn’t really want to know either. To him they were simply unnecessary and an insult to the beauty of the night.  
Pushing these thoughts aside, he swam closer to the beach where Jongin was currently the only human around.  
Which was good.  
If there were more… Sehun wouldn’t be able to approach.  
He was daring yes, but not stupid.  
  
Jongin seemed to be deep in thoughts, the merman mused now that he was close enough to fully take him in. He was seated on the sand, legs pulled close to his chest with his head resting on his knees.  
What was going on in the other’s mind?  
Sehun found himself curious beyond belief.  
And why did the human not come closer? The mer-creature knew that the brunet had loved sitting there, red sunrays illuminating his face as the waves tickled his feet.  
“Why don’t you come in? It’s still warm.”  
He nearly bit his lip to stop himself from talking, but then it was already too late as the human tilted his head, focusing on him.  
Damn.  
The merman watched as recognition showed in those dark brown orbs, the human’s jaw falling open. So much to trying to be a little more careful about this.  
He had just called out to Jongin, who was sitting on the wide beach where anyone could suddenly pop up out of the blue. Sehun had often watched the humans come and go here, play in the water for a while until they left again.  
But no one had ever held his attention as much as the male in front of him.  
It was too late now to pull back so the mer-creature decided for an offensive approach instead.  
“Can you come to the small cove again?” he asked the human  
“You know behind these rocks, the small patch of sand from the other day” Sehun explained, lifting his hand to point to the area he meant.  
Jongin hadn’t said a word yet, but he watched the human nod and getting up on his feet.  
  
The merman grinned, running his hand through his wet raven coloured locks in victory before he let himself be swallowed by the ocean, diving over to the spot.  
He arrived there first naturally, given his speed underwater and the fact that the brunet had to climb over the rocks to reach the small cove first.  
Sehun watched with curious eyes as a tuft of brown hair popped up and then more and more of the human was revealed until he had fully climbed over the barriers, dropping onto the sandy space. Brown eyes focused on him and he knew that the human wanted some answers.  
  
However, the merman wasn’t sure yet if he could give him what he wanted to hear.  
“Hey” he grinned, swimming a little closer to the edge where he could rest his abdomen on the soft subsurface, tail and fin still covered by the waves of the sea.  
Jongin stepped closer as well, but never close enough for the waves to reach him.  
“Hello” the human greeted back, still unsure  
“I thought we established that I mean no harm” Sehun snickered and let his fin stick out of the water waving at Jongin to make the man smile even for the tiniest bit.  
  
He did.  
And it made Sehun’s heart flutter.  
  
“So now that we have re-established this,” the merman was still grinning up at the human, intending to get some answers out from the brunet first before he would be willing to spill some secrets of his own  
“Why don’t you come into the water?”  
It had been bugging him for an eternity it seemed. Too many moons had passed since the last time he had seen Jongin step inside the water in that black and blue suit of his.  
“I told you before” came the human’s reply and that made Sehun tilt his head  
“I don’t … do this anymore. I stopped surfing…” the human trailed off, apparently searching for a word.  
It caused the merman to pout slightly as he put up his elbow and rested his head on his palm, exhaling in annoyance.  
So the other still couldn’t recall his name. The merman had thought that the human might be able to remember again. Which was why he hadn’t said anything the last time they met. He wanted Jongin to remember on his own.  
But the look on the brunet’s face told him that he had no idea about his name. And that meant that he either really couldn’t remember or he hadn’t even tried to.  
Sehun really hoped it wasn’t the latter.  
  
The mer-creature pulled up his eyebrows. Forming his name in the human language was always a little complicated. He rarely used it, but then again, why would he? For most of his kin it was only important to be able to understand it, not speak it. In case there were humans nearby and the merfolk needed to know what they were up to. If they were fishermen or if they were ‘harmless’. They were not supposed to converse with their kind after all.  
  
  
He looked up to meet Jongin’s eyes who still looked at him with an expectant glance. Fine, he would give in.  
“Sehun. The memory of humans seems to be even worse than I thought as you still can’t remember, hm?”  
That seemed to render the other utterly flustered as the merman could watch the brunet’s cheek turn pink.  
It was an endearing sight.  
  
“No!” Jongin exclaimed immediately and waved his hands in defeat  
“I just… I still can’t believe you are real? I guess… does that make sense for you? And I really can’t remember anything from that day…”  
The human seemed slightly more relaxed now and even crouched down before he plopped down into a sitting position, his legs pulled up to his chest again.  
So he was still defensive.  
Sehun couldn’t really blame him though.  
Humans didn’t know that they existed after all – or more like, they thought they were… what did Kyungsoo always say? Fairy-tales.  
Sehun shrugged his shoulders at that.  
“Yeah, I guess? I was pretty surprised too when I saw my first human. With those weird…legs” he hummed using his other arm to point to Jongin’s limbs  
“And... feet?”  
The merman wasn’t too confident in human anatomy, so he looked at the brunet with a quizzical gaze as he pointed to the body part he meant.  
He received a reassuring nod.  
“And those things… they look so unnatural… what do they even do?”  
He was still pointing at the other’s feet and the human followed his gaze. Then he wiggled with those appendixes Sehun had meant and started laughing, face split by a wide smile.  
“What?!”  
The merman grumbled in annoyance as he let his arm drop back into the water, a new wave washing over him.  
Why was the human laughing at him now? That wasn’t fair. He probably didn’t know about Sehun’s anatomy either.  
“You mean toes?” the human was still chuckling, twitching with each of his toes once for better emphasis  
“Why are you laughing?!” the merman all but growled, but the human didn’t stop. That wasn’t funny, okay? How should he know?  
He did not have these tiny things or even legs.  
He had a tail and he was happy with it.  
Sehun’s lips suddenly formed a smirk as he let his fin sink back into the waves. And as the brunet was still cackling did he whip his tail into the water, using his fin as a kind of shovel to get as much water as possible into the human’s face.  
And that made Jongin shut up finally, leaving him wet from head to toe, blinking in bewilderment. Finally, it was Sehun’s turn to snicker.  
  
“Don’t laugh at me again!” the mer-creature demanded, but kept his smirk on his face. The sight was just too good to be true.  
It was… a familiar sight.  
The male’s locks now wet with sea water, plastered against his forehead and his skin glistening with the droplets. Sehun knew this side of Jongin.  
And he would lie if he would say he hadn’t missed it.  
“Got that?”  
It was Jongin’s turn again to blush, but then the human nodded.  
“Good” the merman sent the brunet a wink before he waved with his fin again.  
“Now that you are already wet, you can come in? It’s still warm, I promise.” Why was he even so adamant about getting Jongin into the water with him?  
Maybe because he had always wondered how it would be to swim with him. Not just in secret, when he kept his distance deep underneath the water’s surface as the other rode large waves to the shore.  
He wanted to… swim together.  
No matter how foolish that may sound to his brother or his other kinsmen…  
Sehun had a feeling that Jongin would understand him.  
  
The merman felt a weird tug at his heart. It kind of felt like it had skipped a beat or two, but he wasn’t sure as it was over faster than he could focus on it.  
He found himself reaching for his necklace, where his special pendant was located. It was the shell of a green mussel, hanging on a string made out of seaweed.  
It still had both his halves which represented his personal status to his own kind. But the human in front of him had probably no idea what it meant.  
This… it was probably better like this anyway.  
  
“I can’t.” he heard Jongin say  
“Why?” Sehun wanted to know and he saw the other frown at the question. The human seemed to become very uncomfortable.  
“If you don’t want to answer me, it’s fine.” the merman prompted but the brunet shook his head almost immediately  
“It’s not that” the human started  
“It’s… kind of embarrassing… at least my parents think so.”  
That made Sehun scrunch up his nose.  
“Well if you feel embarrassed then you feel embarrassed. I don’t think anyone can tell you how to feel, or not to.”  
Jongin smiled a little at that, before he brought his arms around himself. Was the human cold? Maybe he shouldn’t have splashed all that water on him…  
But now it was too late anyway.  
  
“Thanks.” Jongin smiled  
“I think you are the first one to tell me that.”  
The merman hummed at that. Humans were really a weird bunch. He slowly pushed himself up further on the shore, until only his fin was left in the water and he could comfortably reach for Jongin’s shoulder.  
His hand was wet and cold, but the human did not flinch.  
“It’s okay.” He told the other  
“So why won’t you come into the water anymore?”  
  
The brunet seemed to hesitate for a moment. Sehun could watch him gnaw on his bottom lip, before he finally spoke up again.  
“Because I am scared.”  
The merman blinked.  
“Of what?” he wanted to know  
“The sea. The first time you saved me… I thought I was done for... I just… I don’t want it to happen again. And then… you had to save me for a second time”  
The human was rumbling by now and Sehun had a hard time following the brunet and his slurred words.  
The human language wasn’t easy to come around anyway.  
  
The merman hummed, remembering both incidents vividly. The second time… it had been confusing.  
“You can swim… why didn’t you just swim ashore?” he wanted to know  
He heard the other gasp at that, Jongin’s cheeks flushing with what seemed to be shame.  
“I… was paralysed… I was so scared that I simply… forgot”  
  
Sehun bit his bottom lip.  
That was the reason why Jongin wasn’t coming into the water anymore?  
Because he was scared and apparently forgot how to swim. Sehun needed to change that.  
He looked up at the human who was only a few inches apart from him.  
The merman had never pushed back into the waves after his first small sign of affection.  
“I made up my mind” he grinned and Jongin looked at him in bemusement.  
“About what?” the human inquired  
  
Sehun’s lips pulled up into a smirk, his pointy fangs showing.  
“I’m gonna teach you how to swim again”

♒ ♒

  
**A/N:**  
_Here is the new chapter ^^ This time it was written from Sehun’s perspective, but most chapters will be in Jongin’s._  
This was just to clear up some stuff and to introduce Kyungsoo, Sehun’s brother : )  
How do you like it so far?  
Will Jongin agree to Sehun’s proposal? ;))  
We will know soon ^^ Thanks for your support!


	5. Small Steps

 

Kyungsoo found himself at a loss. He had tried keeping up with his little brother, but it was, frankly speaking, utterly impossible.  
Every time the black haired male thought that he had finally managed to keep an eye on his younger sibling, the other vanished yet again. And Kyungsoo knew exactly where the younger was going.  
And it didn’t sit well with him at all.  
It was a troubling thought, imagining that the youngest member of their family was so close to the shore all the time, could be seen by humans any moment… and didn’t care about the danger at all.  
Sehun was daring, headstrong and just far too curious.  
And stubborn - how could Kyungsoo forget that trait of his brother.  
  
He was trying his best to keep their parents of the other’s tail. But it was becoming harder and harder to find excuses for Sehun who was completely oblivious about what was going on.  
Their parents barely saw him anymore as he kept on disappearing on them for hours, sometimes for the whole day.  
Until now, Kyungsoo managed to make them believe that Sehun simply tries to escape his duties. That he is young and free spirited and rather keeps running away but that he will eventually mature and grow into his role.  
They didn’t like it. But they accepted it for now.  
However, the black haired mer-creature had no idea how long they were willing to wait for the other to stop his antics and come around.  
  
Apparently, their string of patience was getting thinner by the day. When Kyungsoo had told his parents that he had no clue about his brother’s whereabouts they had rolled their eyes in annoyance and announced that they would look for him themselves.  
In that very moment, every alarm bell went off in the elder’s mind.  
He knew where Sehun was, theoretically. Namely, at that bloody beach, probably watching that human boy again. If their parents found out…  
  
Not only Sehun would be in trouble.  
That human boy of his could end up in danger too. There was a reason why humans didn’t know of their existence. And Kyungsoo wasn’t sure if Sehun knew that he was indeed endangering that boy’s life with his actions…  
Kyungsoo let out a growl.  
The need to wrap his fingers around is brother’s throat and strangle him was overwhelming in this moment as he was obviously being selfish.  
He was being troublesome with his urge to explore the world above. His silly interest in that human boy.  
What did he even see in him?  
They didn’t have tails or fins they had those two… Kyungsoo searched for the word and let out a grunt as he realised that it was indeed Sehun who had taught him the term again.  
Legs with toes.  
Toes who had no use whatsoever at least in Sehun’s mind.  
Wonderful. Kyungsoo was already picking up on human anatomy and he didn’t even want to have anything to do with them.  
Wonderful.  
He could count himself lucky.  
  
The elder shook his head and swam towards the glittering surface above him.  
The ocean was calm today, the orange colour of the setting sun reflecting in the shallow ups and downs as he approached the island where the humans lived.  
It wasn’t that far to swim, but the real challenge was finding Sehun then. Kyungsoo knew that the other always went to the same beach, yet, he wasn’t sure he would recognise it.  
They all looked the same to him anyway. He knew the general direction and that was it.  
Kyungsoo let out a sound of frustration as his eyes wandered over the distant home of the humans. Yet again, he wished that Sehun was here with him now and he could give him a piece of his mind. Sadly, that was not the case and there was nothing left to do but vanish under the water’s surface again and swim a little faster.  
If he didn’t get to his sibling before his parents did…  
They were done for.  
  
  


♒♒

  
  
Kyungsoo took a look around. He has never been that close to the shore. Even when he followed Sehun to the proximity of humans… he has never dared to venture that close.  
A shiver ran through his spine.  
It… was creeping him out. It was dangerous.  
And… Kyungsoo really wasn’t one to do these reckless things. He preferred it when everything was in order. When everything was safe.  
And this…. This was definitely not safe at all.  
  
“Is this the beach…?” the merman tilted his head. Everything looks the same to him and it wasn’t like he had ever asked Sehun where exactly he was going. Or that he remembered the location by himself.  
But there didn’t seem to be anyone around.  
Neither his brother nor any human. Kyungsoo was thankful for the latter fact. If he was spotted by a human…  
He didn’t even want to fathom what that would mean. He really shouldn’t think about this now. He needed to find Sehun and that as fast as possible.  
Where was the other?  
How many beaches did this island have?  
Well he knew that it must be on the southern side of that island and north of their home around Gapari. It couldn’t be that far, right?  
Damn…. He would never let the other disappear on him again.   
  
A scowl appeared on his face as frustration took over. He only had one chance. Round this island and all the beaches till he found the other.  
And that… before their parents find any of them.  
“Humans just bring trouble” he muttered, splashing his fin into the waves of the water.  
They only brought bad luck.  
Why was Sehun so fascinated by that boy? He was like any other human. And he would… he would be a traitor to their kind if the human was to know about them.  
Humans were all the same.  
There were enough tales about it. About his kin revealing themselves to the humans, of them falling in love…  
And none of these stories had a happy end.  
None.  
Kyungsoo would never be able to trust a human. Their hearts were filled with greed and the hunger for power. The black haired creature would rather die than trust someone like this.  
“Tsk” he spat at these thoughts  
They were ridiculous.  
Why was he even thinking about that?  
  
Suddenly, he hears a strange noise that pulls him out of his thoughts. Kyungsoo whipped his hair around, his eyes widening as he realised what had been the cause of said sound.  
Big, wide eyes stare back at him from the beach.  
There was a human boy, with short black hair, staring back at him.   
Panic rises in the mer-creature’s chest, his heart hammering wildly as fear took over him. A human had seen him.  
A human boy was looking at him right now and he knew –  
“Mer…maid? Are you…. A mermaid?” leaves the boy’s mouth in a voice that was much deeper than Kyungsoo had anticipated.  
That human looked so young that the voice somehow didn’t go with his expectations.  
But the words the other uttered only affirmed his fears – the human had seen him. This human knew what he was… a mer…  
Wait.  
“Yah! I’m a merman- “ Kyungsoo clasped his hands over his mouth immediately.  
What the fuck was he doing here? He needed to hide! Not argue with this damn human boy! If he vanished fast enough the guy might think that he had dreamt it.  
The merman swallowed thickly and then slowly regained his composure. He couldn’t act like this in front of a human.  
And he really needed to…  
“Okay!” the guy suddenly got his attention again, his face split by a very broad smile.  
What?  
Kyungsoo blinked at the human who was slowly coming closer now.  
The waves were already touching his… toes.  
“Stay back!” he yelled immediately and the human stopped in his tracks, tilting his head and looking at him quizzically.  
“I’m not going to hurt you!” the human said then and kept on smiling. What was wrong with this guy? Shouldn’t he be… a little more… shocked?  
Kyungsoo knew that for humans his kin was nothing more than a legend. A tale you told your offspring, not knowing that they held so much truth in them.  
  
“Not going to hurt me?” the mer-creature repeated after the human. These words… uttered so carelessly by the male human really set him off.  
His muscles tensed, his hands forming fists underneath the water’s surface.  
“Not going to hurt me? You dare to say that?”  
Anger was taking over and although he was supposed to vanish, to be never seen again, he wasn’t moving. His eyes were narrowed as he looked at the guy with sheer disgust.  
“You humans are all the same. You would cut us open out of curiosity!” he spat and the human dared to shake his head at that  
“What are you saying?” the guy asked and moved closer to him again. He seemed to be really tall, even for a human. Kyungsoo hated to admit it but he felt slightly intimidated.  
“That you are all the same” he growled and move backwards for every step the human took toward him.  
“I’m not. You can trust me!” the human chuckled and showed of that broad smile again. Kyungsoo was just utterly bewildered by this human’s behaviour.  
It didn’t make sense.  
Wasn’t he supposed to scream or something? Try to catch him? Rub his eyes to see if he wasn’t dreaming?  
“Trust you? A human? I’d rather die!”  
At that the black haired male’s brows furrowed. He looked utterly uncomfortable right now. Maybe even upset.  
“No, don’t die! You seem like an interesting … uhm person?”  
  
Kyungsoo just stared at the human in front of him. He was barely a few metres away from him now.  
What?  
Nothing made sense.  
“You know nothing about me, human” he hissed  
“Chanyeol”  
The merman blinked at that.  
“My name is Chanyeol. And I bet you will be even more interesting if I knew you”  
Could he stop with that smile?  
It was really irritating him by now.  
“What are you even saying?” Kyungsoo asked the human, completely baffled. This… wasn’t what he expected.  
Nothing made sense right now. Why wasn’t he fleeing? Hiding? Why weren’t his survival instincts taking over?  
“That I want to be your friend!” the human, Chanyeol, said and by now Kyungsoo wondered how his face hasn’t split into two yet.  
Didn’t it hurt to always smile like that?  
Humans were really strange creatures…  
  
“My friend?”  
Okay. They weren’t strange. They were downright crazy. Nuts.   
“Yes!” Chanyeol beamed happily  
“My kin and your kin can never be friends, you will always betray us” Kyungsoo muttered under his breath.   
What was he doing here?  
“I won’t! I’ll show you” the human hummed happily. At least he had stopped coming closer. The water was already up to his thighs and Kyungsoo wondered why he had even come in that far.  
Wasn’t he scared that Kyungsoo could attack him?  
Well, he probably didn’t look hostile enough, he had to give him that.  
“Show me?” the mer-creature pulled up his eyebrow.  
Great. Now the human thought he was seriously interested. Just great, Kyungsoo.  
“Yeah. I really need a friend. This island is so damn boring” Chanyeol shrugged his shoulders.  
“We could hang out? Tomorrow evening? I’ll be waiting for you!”  
The merman was still staring at the guy in utter disbelief.  
A friend?  
Hang out?  
  
What?  
  
“As if…” Kyungsoo trailed off. He would never trust the words of a human.  
“You will see” Chanyeol winked at him. Winked at him and then slowly walked backwards and out of the water, never breaking eye contact.  
Humans… were really insane.  
“Whatever.”  
The spell that had held him in place seemed to be broken finally. Without another word, Kyungsoo let himself be swallowed by the water and propelled himself forward to get far, far away of that human boy.  
As if Kyungsoo would ever come back to that beach.  
And as if that human would really be there. They were all the same.  
The merman cursed, realising that he had wasted precious time in finding his brother.  
  
Hopefully he wasn’t too late.  
  
  


♒♒

  
  
  
Jongin watches the mer-creature.  
His dark eyes wander over the other’s dishevelled black hair that had bits of seaweed tangled in them, over the sharp features of his face, those teal coloured eyes, down his body that looked so much like a human’s at first. Yet, the lower his gaze wandered the more obvious the differences became.  
Scales clad the other’s body, looking firm and sturdy but were very soft to touch. Jongin knew this first hand.  
There were no legs, but a tail that ended in a very delicate fin. It looked so fragile, but the brunet had seen the other swim, had watched the strength that lay hidden in the other’s muscles and in that powerful part of his body.  
They were so different. Yet, Jongin couldn’t find himself caring.  
Sehun watched him with the same interest.  
Always asked him silly questions about human life and about his body parts. And yes, some of these questions had been downright embarrassing and the brunet will never ever repeat them or the answers he had given.  
Sehun loved jokes. He laughed loudly, with his eyes pressed into crescents. Like a human.  
They were far more similar than he would have ever thought.  
  
Jongin was wearing his wet suit. It had felt weird at first, pulling it over his skin again and zipping it up. He had been surprised that it still fitted actually. But apparently his growth spurt had nearly been over back then.  
It wasn’t the most comfortable, but it had to do for now anyway.  
  
The merman was grinning at him, teal eyes seizing him from head to toe. What exactly was he thinking?  
Jongin couldn’t quite tell.  
Not even after these few weeks they spent together.  
Maybe that was an exaggeration anyway. They met here on the beach every second evening, watching the sunset together and talking about meaningless stuff.  
Jongin never asked too much about Sehun being a merman, though. The brunet… was kind of scared to upset the other.  
He didn’t want to lose him as weird as that sounded. Jongin had grown kind of fond of the creature who always took extra-long glances at his legs and his toes.  
The human remembered how he had offered the other to take a closer look if he was so interested in the anatomy of his legs.  
And Sehun had inspected them, his touch so soft and careful that it had sent an electric jolt through his body.  
  
Luckily, his curiosity seemed to be sated for the time being.  
Now there were only looks and not hungry glances.  
  
“Why are you grinning like this?” he pulled up an eyebrow as Sehun kept on smiling like crazy. Had he hit his head underwater?  
There were many hidden rocks here after all. He wouldn’t be surprised if Sehun had been too distracted to notice.  
“Yah, can’t I be grinning when I want?” the merman shot back scrunching up his nose. Jongin knew that the other wasn’t really upset.  
These were just games they were playing after getting to know each other a little better.  
Sehun didn’t mind it if they joked with each other like that.  
“Not when you look like you want to murder someone” the brunet answered with a shrug of his shoulders.  
The black haired creature just scoffed at that.  
“Sorry for being happy, Mister Two Legs”  
“Wow, that’s not even original, Captain Obvious” Jongin rolled his eyes. Sehun was trying hard to learn human sarcasm, but it wasn’t that easy for him.  
“What does that mean?”   
Jongin rubbed his temples. Right. The other indeed was not a human and there were many things he needed to explain.  
He didn’t mind though.  
“We call someone Captain Obvious when he says something that was an obvious and unmistakably fact anyway. Hence, it was unnecessary to say as everyone already knows.”  
“So it’s an insult?” Sehun pulled up his brows  
“Not really. Just… gah” the brunet whined out. Sometimes… being human wasn’t easy to explain at all.  
  
“Fine. I’m still happy anyway. We’ve made big progress today!” the merman exclaimed nodding toward Jongin’s legs.  
“You’re right, I suppose” he hummed, stretching his toes apart as a new wave washed over them.  
He could only be so calm because Sehun was here with him.  
The sun had completely set by now and the only light that illuminated the little cove came from the street lights of the far off road and the stars that twinkled above them.  
  
“It’s not so bad, right?” Sehun asked and Jongin shrugged his shoulders  
“I suppose”   
He was still scared. Especially now that the sun was gone, the sea looked like a big mass of blackness, ready to swallow him.  
A shiver ran down his spine as he imagined being lost in the darkness again, flung from left to right until he didn’t even know anymore where up and down was.  
A sharp gasp left him as Sehun’s hand clasped his, squeezing.  
“Slow steps” the mer-creature told him and Jongin nodded, relaxing slightly.  
  
Sehun had been over eager to see him swim again. But now… the merman had understood that he couldn’t overcome his fear so easily.  
And he was more than grateful for that.  
The merman understood him more than anyone else ever had.  
“One day though” Sehun snickered and withdrew his hand  
“You’ll need to swim with me”  
The brunet chose not to answer that. He didn’t want to promise something that he wasn’t sure he could keep.  
The merman didn’t seem to mind though as silence settled over them. It was comfortable though. The ocean didn’t seem so scary anymore for the time being.  
  
“They are pretty, right?”   
“Huh?” Jongin turned his head and found Sehun staring up at the sky. He followed his example.  
“The stars. They are very important to my kin. They navigate us during the night”  
That made sense, Jongin mused.  
He knew that sailors used to navigate with the stars as well so it seemed only natural that the mer-kin relied on them as well.  
They were reliable. Not like the ocean they called home…  
Jongin shook his head.  
No more of this.  
His gaze returned to the creature next to him. Sehun looked so utterly at peace like this. Teal eyes reflecting the starlight from above, his black hair sticking to his forehead.  
He was handsome, Jongin had to admit that.  
Graceful too, when he moved in the water. The human had watched the mer-creature swim countless of times by now.  
It seemed so effortless, as if he was one with the water itself.  
  
He probably was.  
Just like fish or animals like whales and dolphins.  
  
Jongin swallowed, lifting his arm to reach out and touch the others face.  
There was this stray strand that he wanted to brush out of the way but he was interrupted when a loud shout startled them both.  
Sehun scrambled up, vanishing underneath the water’s surface in a split second and only peeking out with the head.  
  
“Sehun!”  
Jongin and the merman both blinked.  
What?  
Sehun turned around, confused as to why someone would call his name. That could only mean…   
Jongin watched as the other looked into the direction of the rock formation to their right as if he had sensed something there.  
“I’m sorry, Jongin” the merman rasped out, biting his bottom lip right after  
“I have to go. I’ll come back the day after tomorrow okay?”  
  
The human barely had time to even say good-bye before Sehun had disappeared on him.  
“O…” but it was already too late, “…kay.”  
  
He was left alone on the shore, the waves coming up to caress his skin again and suddenly he didn’t feel at ease anymore.  
Jongin drew up his legs, pulling them out of reach.  
The vast ocean seemed black again.  
  
  
_**A/N:**  
Here we go with the next chapter~ It’s called small steps for an obvious reason haha. As Jongin is slowly but surely getting better with his water related phobia. This fic won’t be too long hence the small time skip.  
Also Chanyeol has been introduced~ But don’t worry, their role won’t be too big in this fic ^^” They just needed this bigger part now to introduce their relationship!  
Thank you for reading!   
  
xoxo Voltage_


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